Adelaide Simone
Once a bloody-handed priestess of war; now a heretic in the eyes of her congregation. Cold, alabaster-hued features are framed by shoulder-length, wavy red hair, serpentine gaze emitted from steel-grey irises. No more than 5'7". Lithe, slender form is clad in utilitarian waster garb - olive drab cargos, nondescript dark shirt, combat boots. The notable exception was the long, commissarial stormcoat worn open - insignia stripped, dyed jet black. Battered rifle, matte-black autopistol and combat knife were worn or carried openly, as if baring teeth to the hostile wildnerness. 'History' Adelaide hails from the MSR, or the Manitoba Socialist Republic, a technologically advanced empire based on Marxist ideology that dominates the cold wastes of what used to be Canada. She is - or was - what's known as a Commissar in an infantry company of the Republic's armies. Commissars have a strange role; they are a combination of disciplinarian and political officers, expected to uphold the State's ideology within the armed services as well as serve as shining, incorruptable examples of the Republican ideal. Travelers who've passed through the Repulic's demenses have described them as 'secular war priests', an observation not terribly far from the truth. Her service record was long and distinguished. Her company, the 2nd CLA Rifles, was the lynchpin in a battle on the northern frontier against a rampaging cultist horde, and she personally slew a supermutant warlord at the Siege of Regina. A series of bizarre circumstances led to her becoming a de facto go-between for the Republic and the Renegade Motorcycle Club - as well as personally 'attached' to a prominent leader of the rival Inuit tribal confederations. It was almost certainly this latter relationship that led to her trial for treason. Relations soured with the biker gang, and through circumstances beyond either of their control, the Republic was drawn into grinding and bloody war with the Inuit hordes. In the end the MSR suffered thousands dead, but superior firepower drove the tribals back to the northern reaches and broke the back of their armies. After the war political opportunists accused her of working with their enemies, using her original opposition to the conflict itself and personal 'connections' as evidence. The accusations gained traction, in spite of battle honors won on the field of that horrific conflict. Though found innocent by a panel of her pears in the Commissariat by a razor thin margin, she still chose to resign and leave the Republic entirely. This may have had something to do with a series of botched assassination attempts that immediately followed her aquital, likely orchestrated by someone high-placed in the Party. At present she has left her longtime home and abandoned the ideal she dedicated her life to, dosing herself with Rad-X and beginning a long march around the rad-scoured lake that seperates the city-fortress of Winnipeg from the scorched southern wastes. (Notes: New Wasteland players who weren't here for previous incarnations of the dream, this might not make much sense to you. Don't worry about it, because none of the factions mentioned above will have a significant role in the dream's actual goings-on.) (Additional note on the MSR: By 'technologically advanced', one means they have a few factories and artisinal workshops here and there, and occasionally the means to produce electricity. Think 'industrial revolution with assault rifles'. MORE IMPORTANTLY, the southern border of the republic is seperated from the town the dream takes place in by a gargantuan, radioactive lake. Though individuals can cross it, moving armies down it is much more difficult, gotta give errybody anti-rad meds or suits and such, plus boats. By far the biggest barrier to the MSR taking interest in Maks Rosheyi though, is that they just can't be fucking bothered.) 'SPECIAL' Stats Strength - 4 Perception - 3 Endurance - 7 Common Sense - 5 Intelligence - 5 Agility - 8 Leftovers - 3 Perks Snap-Draw: While no shoot-from-the-hip gunslinger, natural agility and finely honed instincts allow her to draw and fire a weapon - especially a handgun - faster than most. Commissarial Training: As a former commissar, Adelaide has received a broad education and specific training in the military arts. This includes a sort of 'liberal arts' type education, weapons handling, strategy and tactics, oratory, political ideology, and the like. Die-Hard: Adelaide harbors a bizarre mutation that does not allow her to feel pain. The nociceptor nerve cells in her body simply do not work. This means she can fight on even through grievous injuries, and the effects of fatigue take longer to wear on her as signals such as aching muscles and such don't register. Flaws ShellShock'd: Suffers from a condition sometimes known as 'gunner's ear' - spending that much time around discharging firearms and artillery has damaged her hearing. This partly accounts for her low Perception score. Though she can hear conversational tones at normal distances, it is remarkably easy to get the jump on her if she can't see you. Out of Her Element: Raised in a city, used to being supplied by logistics crews in the field or simply buy her own food off duty, she's simply not used to surviving on her own in the damn desert. Die-Hard: The flipside of the above Perk. The inability to feel pain can lead her to exacerbate injuries or push her body beyond its limits, and thus damage herself moreso than others in similar situations. Exile: Going back home would be fairly dangerous. Though she does maintain a few loyal contacts in Winnipeg, actually showing her face there again could possibly prove fatal - and the well traveled mercenary or headhunter MIGHT be aware that certain people there are willing to pay a dear price for her head. Addictions: Tobacco or virtually any smokeable; alcohol to a more limited extent, more of a binge drinker now than anything else. 'Inventory' AKM Rifle: Old, trigger's a little sticky but otherwise entirely functional. One 30 round mag loaded, 2 spare (1 full). 7 makeshift firebombs '''with lightable wick 'fuses'; much like molotovs. Glock 18 Autopistol: Modified, but essentially a 9mm handgun with a 30 round mag and full autofire capability. Full auto on this thing isn't terribly accurate; it's basically an 'ohshit button'. It's got the one 30 round, plus 2 spare 10 round. '''Blade of 2nd Company (New Aquisition): A cavalry sabre in a black scabbard, single-bladed with a handguard and curving slightly at the tip. The weapon always seems to have a bright, near mirror-like finish no matter how much abuse it undergoes. The sword is not made of conventional steel, but a unique composite ceramic developed in the late Prewar era known as Saturnite. This material was used in the construction of certain power fists, heavy artillery shells, and the infamous Cosmic Knives line of kitchenware. As such it does not seem to rust or tarnish and is wickedly sharp; simply running one's hand gently along the blade can draw blood, and it has been known to hack through human bones on a hard enough swing. It is a unique arm with a storied history that is traditionally passed down to the captains of the 2nd Rifle Company. One of the most famous tales attached to the Blade is the story of Captain Dietrich Farkus, who used it to slice his way out of the stomach of an enormous Harrower Worm that had swallowed him as the 2nd attempted to chase it out of the tunnels of Minehead some 30 years ago. The legend usually leaves out that Farkus died after days of excrutiating agony from digestive enzyme chemical burns across every inch of his skin. Even Manitoban historical scholars are at a loss as to why anybody in the pre-war world chose to make a sword out of Saturnite. It is probably for the better, as its origin is much less dramatic than the deeds done by its wielders. The blade was commissioned as a prop for Pirates of the Carribean XIV: Caledonia Keelhaul ''in 2059, which not coincidentally was one of the most overbudget and expensive films in the history of motion pictures and ruined many of its investors. '''Trench Knife': Essentially a big honkin combat knife with a knuckle guard. Commissarial Stormcoat: As in desc, dyed black and shit. A pre-war relic repurposed for MSR use, it's lined with lightweight bullet resistant fibers, giving it all-around anti ballistic protection equivalent to police-issue Kevlar but significantly lighter. Provides adequate protection from mid-grade handgun rounds. Microfusion cell: A big 'un, about the size of a car battery. Suitable for powering small electrical devices for a significant period of time. Backpack: Large, military issue, load bearing. Hotplate Holodisk reader/player and several disks. Canteen Pictures